THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


THE   COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH   CAROLINIANA 


C378 

UK3 

I83iil 


S«S;TV  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00036720343 


This  book  musf  not 
be  token  from  the 
Library  building. 


Form  No.  471 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arcliive 

in  2010  witli  funding  from 

University  of  Nortli  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/addressdeliveredOOired 


>r^iifi 


TELIVEEED   CEFORE    THE 


ItlJLECTlC  »2A^n  PHIL^lJ\^THROrit 


■SfT 


CHAPEL  HILL,  N.  C. 


awsm  mi  assas 


^Y^  THE  HON.  JAMES  IREDELL* 


f-RINTED  BY  Isaac  (j.  PATRIDCE, 

1834. 


COUKESPONDFNCi:. 


University  of  Noktii  Cakolin-.*,  Juyi;  '2GiI),  l8ol. 
Dear  Sir — The  uiiJersigucd  have  l)ccu  appointed  a  Comiuitlt'c,  by  (ht; 
Pliilaiithropic  Socu'ty,  to  request  lor  publicaiioii  a  copy  of  your  A'I'.lress, 
JelivcrcJ  on  the  day  preceding  Commencement.  Tliey  ta!;o  [ileasure  in 
communicating  to  you  the  high  satisfaction  which  it  afl'orded  and  the  llat- 
teriiig  approbation  \vit!i  which  it  was  received.  They  take  this  opportunity 
of  making  their  acknowledgments  for  the  salutary  advice  which  it  contained 
and  the  lessons  of  wisdom  which  it  inculcated. 
Yours,  very  respectfully, 


lion.  J.iMES  Ikedell. 


RlCfl'D  B.  CREECY,  ) 
HAYWOOD  W.  GUIO.V,  V 
JAMES    H.  IIUTCiil^'y,  ) 


CommilUc 


Raleigu,  June  SSth,  1831. 
Young  Gentlemen— I  received  on  the  26th  instant,  a  note  of  that 
date,  which  you  addressed  to  nic  as  a  Committee  of  the  Philanthro|iic 
Society,  requesting  for  publication  a  copy  of  the  Address  delivered  to  the 
two  Societies  of  the  University  on  the  day  before  the  Commencement. — 
Constant  occupation  has  prevented  me  from  answering  it  until  to-day. — I 
can  say  with  unalll'cted  sincerity  that  T  know  of  no  merit  in  the  Address 
which  should  entitle  it  to  the  honor  of  being  published  by  tlic  Society.  If 
you  believe,  however,  that  any  good  may  result  from  such  a  course,  I  am 
willing  to  defer  to  your  judgment,  and  will  furnish  you  with  a  copy  as  soon 
as  1  can  make  a  fair  one,  having  had  no  ojiportunity  of  doing  so  before  it 
was  delivered. 

For  your  own  very  complimentary  note,  and  for  the  favorable  opinion 
entertained  by  the  Society  of  this  humble  effort,  I  tender  to  yourselves  aud 
to  them  my  sincere  acknowledgments. 

With  great  esteem,  your  obedient  servant, 

JA.  IREDELL. 
'!*ilcssrs.  Ricu'd  13.  Creecv, 

Commit  fee  o/  the  P'lilanlhropic  Society/. 


Ricu'd  13.  Creecv,      ^ 
H.AYwooD  W.  Gulo  :,  > 

J.\MES    H.    HuTCill.VS',  5 


-*5fe 


Yoviis^  GcnUe.mcn  of  Ihv  DiaJcciic 

and  Philantliropic  Socictin;: 
I  appear  bcfuro  you  in  obotlitMiCc  !o  the  inv'tntion 
wills  wliirli  j'ou  lionorf'd  inc.  In  accepting  litis  invii.iii'n, 
T  l;ave  given  you  the  strongest  proof  ot  my  desire  to  gra  ify 
your  ui^Oies  and  of  my  willingness  to  coniriliilc  my  po'ii'"!, 
liouevcr  hnmhie,  to  llic  entertainments  of  the  day.  UnskiMed 
in  literary  cxrrcisfs,  an  iinfreqiient  wor.-^liipper  in  the  temples 
of  the  ]Mus(  s,  and  nnacciistomed  to  the  diameter  voii  have 
nssigneJ  me,  h.ad  I  any  vanity  to  l)e  mortified.  I  shonid  Ir.ivc 
shrnnk  from  a  tnf^k,  the  performance  of  wliich  has  Iieretofurc 
I'Gcn  illnstraicd  by  f;rniu5  and  taslc  and  eloquence.  Ilavisig, 
liouever,  no  ohjcci  bnt  your  good,  I  .shall  be  anply  reward- 
ed for  all  personal  sacrifice,  if  any  thini:  I  can  sav  on  this 
occasion  shall  have  the  effect  of  animating  one  viritious 
j->rincip]c,  of  giving  constancy  to  one  generous  impidse  or 
■s  igor  to  oiic  noble  resolution. 

I  can.  well  imagine,  my  young  friends,  llie  emotions  you 
feel  on  this  return  of  the  annual  Collegiate  Jubilee — your 
Joy  at  having  passer!  honorably  through  another  year  of  pre- 
paration for  the  great  duties  of  life — the  bright  hopes  of  the 
future,  which  you  cherish  wiih  all  the  enthii-ia.-<m  cT  youth. 
There  are  o'dier  hearts,  which  j'uipitalc  on   this  occasion  in 


symprilliy  with  yours.  Your  parents,  your  instructors,  t;i/t-. 
guardians  of  this  Institution  partako  of  your  joy  at  your 
past  success,  and  cordially  join  in  your  Iiopcs  of  the  future. 
If  tiieir  joy  is  less  lively,  if  their  hopes  are  less  vivid,  it  is 
because  they  are  mingled  with  a  deep  anxiety — it  is  because 
tliey  have  travelled  over  the  ground  jnu  are  soon  to  occupy, 
and  have  learnt  tlic  danger?  now  hidden  from  vour  sight. 
^on  look  before  you  upon  the  great  road  of  life,  and  it  pre- 
sents itself  to  3-our  eyes,  smooth  as  the  Appian  way,  disrjos- 
ing'  at  every  step  the  most  beautiful  landscapes,  with  every 
thing  to  invite,  allure  and  refresh  you  on  your  journey.  I 
Viiil  not  attempt  to  disturb  this  delightful  vision.  I  would 
not,  if  I  could,  throw  a  single  shade  over  this  bright  perspeC-' 
tive.  It  has  been,  no  doubt  wisely,  ordained  that  no  glo'Mny 
anticipations  should  mar  the  joyous  season  of  youth.  In- 
dulge, then,  my  young  friends,  while  yet  you  may,  while 
Tincontaminated  by  and  unsusj)icious  of  the  world,  indulge, 
in  all  their  freshness,  tlie  g:iy  hopes  and  clieering  as[)iration3, 
which  belong  peculiarly  to  your  age,  and  which  constitute  at 
once  its  blessing  and  its  charm. 

It  is  my  purpose  to  direct  your  attention  for  a  few  mo- 
ments to  one  of  the  most  powerful  principles  of  our  nature, 
one  which  you  now  feel  in  active  operation,  and  upon  the 
proper  management  of  whicli  depends  much  of  the  happiness 
and  honor  and  rcspcclability  of  your  future  lives.  The  de- 
sire of  distinction,  the  ambition  to  excel  finds  a  place  in  every 
generous  bosom.  Indeed,  so  universally  is  the  principle 
diffused,  that  scarcely  an  individtial  of  the  human  family  can 
be  said  to  be  exempt  from  its  influence.  It  commences  will 
the  first  expanding  farulties  of  youtli,  and  continues,  growing 
^ilh  the  growth,  until  tlie  latest  period  of  life.     The  voL.ce 


ul' praise  iri  sweet  even  to  the  pratllino-  infant,  anil  it  full?,  noj. 
tiniieeded,  on  cars  that  have  been  (lulled  by  age.     In  every 
stale  of  society,  from  the  most  Ixirbaroiis  to  the  most  reniied: 
in  all  the  diflerenl  departments  and  pursuits  of  mankind,  this 
ambition  to  excel,  modified  in  an  almost  infinite  vaiicly  ns  tt) 
its  objects  and  means  of  accomplishment,  is  to  be  found  ex- 
erting its  influence  with  more    or  less  power,  and  either  for 
good  or  for  evil.     It  would  be  doubting  the  wisdom  of  Pro- 
vidence to  suppose  that  a  principle  of  such  potent  energy 
and  such  universal   existence  had   not  been  implanted  in  us 
for  great  and   useful  purposes.     It  is   true    that,  like  all  our 
passions,  it  is  capable    of  being   perverted    and    abused.-^ 
While  on  the  one  hand  it  has  largely  contributed  to  the  prcv,- 
gress  of  civilization  and  the  development  of  the  human  mind; 
while  it  has  given  birth  to  all  the  wonderful  achievements  in 
art  and  discoveries  in  science;  to  the  s])lendid  productions  in- 
ancient  and  modern  literature,   which  delight,  instruct   and 
elevate  us  — yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  too  often  been  the 
fruitful  source  of  crime  and  misery   and  bloodshed  and  de- 
vastation.    In  one   case,  it  is  ambition,  pure   and   virtuous, 
"pursuing  noble  ends  by  noble  means" — in  the  other,  ambi- 
tion, unchecked  by  moral  restraint,  originating  in  selfishness 
and  reckless  of  the   obligations   that  bind   man   to   man. — r 
Which  of  tliese  recommends  itself  to  your  esteem  and  affec- 
tion, I  will   not  insult   you   by  inquiring.     But  how  is  the 
eminence,  which  is  alone  to  be  coveted,  the  distinction  found- 
ed on  merit,  how  is  it  to  be  obtained?    It  does  not  offer  itself 
spontaneously — it  will  not  "unsought  be  won,"  nor  is  it  easy 
of  acquisition;  yet  there  are  moans  by  the  faithful  applica- 
tion oi  which  success  will  seldom  fail  to  be  'secured.     Permit 
niebriefly  to  advert  to  some  whiclj  readily  present  them- 


mIvcs',  fi'ui  wiiicii  nre  a<1aptfd  to  every  vocation  to  wliicL 
you  h.av  ho  calk;  i.  First  arid  chief  among  ihcsf  n.ii.n  ;  is 
prr:.;everiii<r  industry,  lie,  who  socks  a  lofly  siinimit,  i,:ust 
direct  his  r.!<;hl  v.  ilh  a  wing  that  ncvrr  lircs  and  an  eye  Uiat 
r.cvcr  sliinihcrs.  Mcalo!  industry  is  ihi'  pccidiar  cliaracteris- 
iif  (if  (dvilizrd  s(:c'ict\'.  Tlie  savrin;e  hut  Jabtus  for  a  scanty 
daily  su]>sis!cnci',  and  the  rest  of  liis  life  is  spent  in  bodily 
rxerrirc,  in  llie  sports  of  tlie  chase,  in  ferocious  baltle,  (jr  in 
sloliiful  indolence.  "SViion  liie  light  of  civilization  fust  il- 
lumes the  mind,  iiuin  wakens  as  it  were  to  a  new  existence, 
lie  becomes  conscious  of  the  powers  of  intellect  and  proiid 
of  ;he  superi'jriiy  they  confer.  As  he  cuitivatcs  then),  Isc 
perceives  his  views  constandy  exten;iiiig  and  Iiis  faculties 
Ijecotning  mure  and  more  invigorated.  lie  looks  abroad 
tlirongh  the  inteilectiial  and  jd)\\sical  world,  and  is  e\<:.ry  day 
discovering  some  new  secret  of  nature  wliich  charms  and 
instriicis  liim.  One  discuvery  but  makes  him  the  more  eager 
for  another.  lie  finds  nothing  too  snbile  to  clnde  his  grasp, 
notiiing  too  swift  to  escajjc  Ids  pursuit,  nothing  too  strong  to 
resist  his  p:nver.  There  seems,  indeed,  to  be  scarcely  any 
other  limit  to  the  extent  of  intellectual  iniprovement  than  that 
which  is  impose  i  by  the  (rail  and  perishing  tenure  by  which 
it  iias  pleased  Piovidctjce  that  we  shall  hold  onr  corporeal 
lenement.  But  remember,  my  young  friends,  that  our  minds 
can  only  become  thus  vast  and  comprehensive  by  constant 
exercise  and  by  unremitting  labor  in  adding  to  tlieir  stores. 
I^scrcise  is  not  more  necessary  to  preserve  lieahli  in  the 
l)odi!y  system  than  it  is  to  give  vigor  to  the  intellectual.  It 
is  an  imTiutable  law  of  our  nature  that  tnerv;ation  is  the 
necps-jary  an  1  inevitable  eflecl  of  sloth  and  indolence.  Tlic 
rnii\d  not  only  reciuires,  like  the  body,  its  fit  exercise;  it  also 


9 

Jeniaiuls  its  appropriate  i'uoil.  You  mu:U  supply  it  wiili 
fads.  You  must  furnisli  it  dail}  witli  nr\v  arccssidiis  ol 
knowledge'  'Ihe  art  of  i)riiiting,  that  greatest  of  all  arts. 
lias  enabled  vou  to  seize  and  appropriate  to  your  ouii  use 
llie  fruits  of  the  expcrieuee,  the  observalion  and  rcilcctiot; 
of  olliersj  for  thousands  of  year?.  Not  to  avail  ycMir^rh  Cl- 
of  these  would  be,  in  some  measure,  to  relapse  into  barba- 
rism. It  would  !)e  as  gross  a  folly,  as  if  a  mariner  Vi'.rc  to 
undertake  to  traverse  extensive  and  dangerous  seas  \vit!)ont 
the  aid  of  charts,  whieh  the  enterprise  and  observation  of 
others  had  provided.  But  the  acquisition  of  knnwledi-c  is 
jiot  alone  sufficient.  It  must  be  accompanied  bv  ref1cc!i(in. 
The  mind  must  be  so  disciplined  as  to  be  able  to  dispose  of 
llie  facts  it  receives  in  proper  order — otherwise  they  will 
form  a  huge,  misshapen  and  useless  mass.  To  crowd  the 
mind  with  knowledge,  when  its  reasoning  faculties  are  suf- 
fered to  slumber,  is  like  oppressing  th.e  stomach  with  luud 
when  it  has  lost  its  powers  of  digestion.  While,  therefore, 
you  avail  yourselves  of  the  reflections  and  information  oi 
others  and  of  your  own  (d)servalions,  exercise  your  under- 
standing in  separating  truth  from  error  and  in  drawing  sucii 
conclusions  as  will  best  enable  you  "to  act  well  your  juirt  it; 
life" — the  great  purpose  of  all  knowledge.  There  is  a  com- 
mon mistake  among  the  young,  and  perhaps  more  particular- 
ly among  those  of  collegiattj  institutions,  that  while  industri- 
ous application  is  necessary  for  ordinary  capacities,  genius 
requires  no  exertion.  It  is  an  error,  which  has  proved  fatal 
to  many  a  youth  of  the  fairest  promise.  Be  assured,  it  is  an 
error  which  you  cannot  reject  with  too  much  prompiness 
and  reject  forever.  You  read  the  productions  of  the  master- 
spirits of  the  ages  in  which  thev  Jived,  upon  which  the  stamp 
2 


10 


uf  i^oniiis  of  tlin  hiolicKt  order  lias  been  impressed  hy  tlic 
concurring  vdice  of  all  mankitid.  Think  yon  that  thp?e  itn- 
mortal  works  sprnng  from  the  l)rain  of  tlieir  anlliors,  without 
cflnrt  nm]  in  ftdl  proportion,  like  the  fabled  Pallas  from  the 
brain  of  Jnpilcr?  No,  mv  votmg  friends;  if  we  conid  sum- 
mon before  us  these  illustrious  dead,  ihey  woukl  tell  us  of 
their  long  course  of  preparation;  that  their  minds  had  l^een 
(lisriplined  from  early  life;  that  they  bad  diligently  e()llcoied 
]:no\vlege  from  every  accessible  -ourcc;  that  they  had  rc- 
ilcctcd  long  and  deeply;  that  tliey  labored  for  years  in  im- 
proving their  understanding,  cultivating  their  taste,  and  puri- 
fying and  exalting  their  imao;inatii>n.  All  biography  proves 
that  bv  such  means,  and  such  only,  can  solid  and  jierniancnt 
literary  distinction  be  obtained. 

But  you  must  not  onlv  be  industrious;  you  must  persevere 
in  your  industry.  Let  every  point  you  reach  be  only  the 
place  for  a  new  departure.  Let  every  acquisition  you  make 
be  the  foundation  for  anotiier  and  yet  antjtber.  Take  ex- 
ample in  one  respect  from  the  miser,  and  heap  treasure  rn 
treasure.  Like  him,  yon  will  feel  no  satiety  from  tlie  accu- 
mulation, and,  unlike  him,  tlie  happiness  you  will  derive  from 
your  riches  will  be  founded  on  the  noblest,  instead  of  the 
basest,  principles  of  our  nature.  Let  no  didlcubies  disheart- 
en or  deter  you — rather  let  them  animate  your  zeal.  Perse- 
verance can  level  mountains  and  elevate  vallies.  Aim  at  the 
I'.ighest  degree  of  perfection,  and  you  may  safely  act  upon 
![ie  conviction  that  what  has  been  accomi)lished  by  others 
may  be  attained  by  you.  Lideed,  since  no  limits  to  the  hu- 
]r.an  intellect  have  yet  been  defined,  why  may  you  not  sur- 
pass th  »se,  who  have  preceded  you? 

I  trust,  my  young  friends,  you  will  not  be  startled  by  this 


11 


reconiniendailon  of  constant  dili^fncr.  Vou  will  form  a 
iiT^st  moncous  notion,  if  yon  suppose  tlial  vou  aro  t)in#  ex- 
liorti'd  to  a  life  of  pain,  of  frlnom  or  of  irliPome  t(»il,  I.a^ior 
ct  ipse  voJuptas.  Yon  m  ill  Invl  that  occupation  is  one  of  the 
secrets  of  Iiappincss.  You  will  find  in  tho  pnr&iiit  oi  know- 
ledfre  tliat  what  tlic  eloquent  Psalmist  has  said  of  relic;ini;s 
wisdom  is  true,  to  no  pm;ill  extent,  of  the  wisdom  of  thi;" 
worM — ''all  her  wnvs  arc  wavs  of  pleasantness  and  all  hei' 
jiaths  are  peace." 

L'M  me  \iro;e  upon  vou,  ns  another  means  of  oiitaininir  dis- 
tinciinn,  the  prncticc  of  all  tlie  moral  virtues.  I  si)eak  of 
these,  now,  onlv  as  connected  with  mv  sulijcct,  a'ld  not  as 
cnioined  upon  vou  bv  the  hitrhest  of  all  ohlijations,  the  coni- 
mr^nd  of  vour  Creator.  Tt  is  true  there  have  hcen  instances 
in  which  individuals  have  sjained  a  niche  in  the  Tcmpie  of 
Fame,  whose  characlers  have  heen  sullied  hv  vice  and  some- 
times stained  hy  crime.  But  with  how  much  more  lustre 
would  ihcv  have  shone,  if  virtue  had  hcen  associated  with 
their  talents?  The  admiration  liiev  receive  is  not  an  unmixed 
admiration.  V\'hile  tlieir  intellectual  attainments  invite  us 
towards  them,  we  are  repulsed  with  horror  hy  their  moral 
depravity.  AVho  has  not  felt  the  keenest  mortincation,  in 
readincv  the  effusions  of  the  most  powerful  hard  of  modern 
days,  who  wrote  with  a  pen  of  fire,  that  such  brilliant  genius 
should  have  been  obscured  by  vice  and  too  often  prostituted 
to  the  most  unhallowed  purposes!  IIow  much  more  lolty 
would  have  been  iiis  pedestal,  if  he  had  sutTered  it  to  he 
based  on  virtue!  Such  instances,  though  they  do  occur,  arc 
exceptions  to  a  general  law  of  our  nature.  Indulgence  ol 
vici'ius  propensities,  carelessness  of  luoral  obligations,  have 
an  inevitable  tendency,  not  only  to  destroy  the  moral  sense 


12 

but  to  enervate  tlie  intelleclual  faculties.  Besides  tlie  waste 
of  time  they  often  occasion,  they  ])r()cliire  pain,  discorifcnt, 
fretfulness,  remorse,  indisposition  to  scrions  occupation  or 
serious  ihniiglit.  The  mind  gradually  loses  its  tension  and 
sinks  in  an  efjoal  degree  with  the  moral  principle.  The 
practice  of  virtue,  on  the  other  hand,  gives  self-satisfarlion, 
peace,  serenity  and  conlenlmenl;  the  mind  is  sufi'ered  in  qui- 
etness to  pursue  the  even  tenor  of  its  way  and  the  course  to 
lienor  and  distinction  is  lett  unobstructed. 

Firmness  and  decision  of  character  are  indispensable  to 
your  success.  The  weak,  vacillating  individual,  who  is  every 
O.uiig  by  starts  and  nothing  long;  who  yields  to  every  sally 
of  caprice  and  impulse  of  feeling;  who  is  the  good-naiured 
victim  of  every  artful  or  imprudent  associate,  must  never 
hope  to  rise  beyond  mediocrity.  Let  your  resolutions  be  wise- 
ly formed  and  steadily  executed.  When  your  consciiMice  and 
your  understanding  point  to  the  object  of  your  pursuit,  suf- 
fer not  yourselves  to  be  diverted  to  the  right  or  to  the  left 
by  the  importunities  or  the  gibes  or  sneers  of  olhers.  Re- 
collect, too,  that  the  '■'fortiter  in  re'''  is  not  incompatible  witli 
the  '■'■suaviter  in  modo.^  Urbanity  will  adorn,  without  im- 
pairing, your  lirmness. 

Honorable  in  all  your  thoughts  and  purposes,  you  should 
have  nothing  to  conceal,  and  therefore  candor  and  openness 
sliould  mark  your  whole  conduct  and  character.  From  the 
man  of  dissimulation,  the  man  of  art,  the  suspicious  man,  we 
shrink  with  innate  dread  and  dislike.  Candor  alone  inspires 
confidence  and  commands  respect. 

It  may  be  useful  to  urge  upon  ail,  who  wish  to  excel,  the 
necessity  of  relying  upon  their  own  exertions.  If  you 
possess  ihe  adventitious  aids  of  wealth  or  influential  friend?. 


i-3 

tlic}'  mny  be  used  to  second,  but  not  to  supercede,  your  cfTorls; 
and  fi)rti!natc  indeed  will  yon  be,  if  you  do  not  lind  tlieni 
clogs  to  your  advancement.  If  you  are  distitulc  of  wliat 
are  usually  considered  worldly  advantage?,  be  not  discoura- 
ged—  clicer  yourselves  with  the  refleclion  that,  under  our 
liappy  political  institutions,  there  is  no  royal  road  to  Imnor 
and  distinction,  and  that  some  of  the  most  illuslrious  indivi- 
duals of  this  and  other  ages  have  risen  from  tiie  humblest  to 
the  highest  stations,  unaided  liy  power  or  patronage  or  wealth. 

In  the  desultory  remarks  I  have  been  addressing  to  you,  i 
liave  not  spoken  of  the  induence  of  the  Christian  religion  in 
promoting  your  success,  even  in  this  life.  It  is  a  (heme 
which  belongs  more  appropriately  to  holier  lips  than  mine — 
to  lips,  that  have  been  touched  with  sacred  tire.  Yet  I  may 
be  pardoned  for  assuring  you,  that,  while  nothing  can  throw 
a  brighter  lustre  round  your  character  than  the  genuine 
principles  and  unostentatious  practice  of  piety,  so  nothing 
can  impart  such  pure  and  high  and  ennobling  motives  to  ex- 
ertion and  nothing  can  bring  such  imposing  power  to  sustain 
and  strengthen  you  in  every  virtuous  resolution. 

But  one  to{)ic  more,  and  I  will  hasten  to  conclude — a  topic 
which  I  could  not  omit,  both  from  its  intrinsic  importance 
and  because  it  would  be  doing  injustice  to  your  gallantry 
and  my  own,  in  an  assembly  where  the  smiles  of  beauty  are 
beaming  all  around  us.  It  is  the  iniluence  of  female  society 
in  the  improvernent  of  your  minds  and  the  formation  of  your 
character.  Woman  has  been  ordained  to  perform  a  most 
important  part  in  tlie  moral  government  of  the  world.  The 
mother  forms  the  first  rudiments  of  the  infant  njind,  and  instils 
into  the  infant  bosom  the  first  principles  of  virtuous  anion. 
The  sister  refines  and  softens  the  liarsher  manners  and  more 
3 


14 

tiirlMilent  feelinjrs  oi'  the  brother.  Tho  passion  for  a  virtuou's 
nii^  i('«;=  purifies  the  sentiments  and  elevates  the  thoughts  of 
l!ie  lover;  while  she  binds  him  in  the  chains  of  despotism  only 
to  !c:i(l  him  in  the  pnlhs  of  honor.  The  wife  brings  to  the  aid 
of  her  husband  a  tender  sympathy  that  robs  sorrow  of  it?  sting; 
a  f  rliuide  t1;at  never  quails  beneath  calamity  or  distress;  a 
pru  Icr.ce  ever  vigilant,  and  an  instinctive  sagacity  that  never 
falters.  Such  was  the  influence  of  woman,  even  in  the  days 
when  her  sole  titles  to  admiration  and  respect  were  her  per- 
sonal charms  and  the  virtues  of  her  heart.  Hanpily  in  our 
lime  education,  without  diminishing  these  claims,  has  added 
others  of  the  highest  character.  The  cultivation  f>f  her  in- 
tellect has  left  man  little  to  boast  of  his  assumed  superiority. 
Where  can  you  meet  united  such  refined  intelligence;  such 
delicacy  of  taste;  such  purity  of  thought;  such  utter  loath- 
someness of  vice  in  ever}'  shape;  such  fortitude  in  every 
situation  in  which  we  are  called  on  to  bear  and  to  suffer, 
as  in  woman!  Can  you  fail  to  be  improved  by  an  association 
wliich  offers  to  you  such  example?,  clothed  in  the  most  cap- 
tivating form?  Not  onh'  will  you  feel  the  influence  on  your 
mental  powers,  but  your  sentiments  will  be  freed  from  all 
their  grossness.  In  youth  there  can  scarcely  be  found  a 
more  cfhcicnt  corrective  of  vicious  propensities  than  the  so- 
ciety of  virtuous  and  enlightened  woman. — And  may  I  be 
permitted  to  turn  for  a  moment  to  our  fair  auditors,  and  re- 
mind them  that  the  intluence  I  have  truly  ascribed  to  them 
was  not  intended  to  gratify  their  vanity  or  swell  their  pride? 
May  I  be  permitted  to  entreat  them,  by  all  their  loveliness, 
by  all  th<i  endearing  ties  that  bind  them  so  closely  to  our 
Iwartp,  not  to  forget  their  destiny,  not  to  neglect  the  high 
capacities  with  which  they  are  endowed,  but  to  be  our  bright 


15 


cxoinf)lars,  and  to  cliecr  on  our  vmhiIi  to  all  uiiirh  hononibK; 
anihiiion  can  attain  and  all  to  which  it  oiii>ht  to  as|)irc. 

IMy  yonng"  iViind.-',  I  havo  thus  adverted  to  sonin  (  f  the 
means  by  which  von  mav  acquire  an  eminence,  \vlii(I>  no 
man  should  Idu^^li  lo  jhis:;css.  Yet  yon  may  ask  why  slKudd 
yon  seek  it?  I  sh,p;dd  not  consult  the  Lreviiy,  which,  in  my 
opinion,  is  a  valnahle  ijuility  in  an  address  ot^  this  snri,  ii  T 
Meve  to  enter  at  larjic  npon  this  hrain  h  of  the  subject.  Lol 
my  answer,  then,  !)C  comprised  in  a  short  and  icnpcrfect  sum 
marv.  In  the  first  jilacc,  it  is  a  law  of  your  Creator  iiiiidanl- 
cd  in  voiir  bosom.  Yon  cannot,  and  vou  onorh.l  not,  if  yon 
could,  totally  extiniruish  the  aivd)ition  to  excel. 

Then,  I  have  already  remarked  tliere  is  a  pleasure  in  l!ic 
very  means  you  take  to  accomplish  your  object.  What  ma}' 
appear  toil  to  the  indifierent  spectator,  conslilules  one  of  tlie 
highest  enjoymenls  the  hunter  I'ecds  in  the  chase. 

And  wliat  can  be  more  deliirhtful,  wh.st  can  assimilate  us 
more  ncarlv  to  Ilin""  whose  imaiic  we  bear,  than  the  exei(  ise 
of  the  power,  which  superiority  Cfuifers,  of  bestowing  bless.- 
inos  on  others. 

In  ihc  estimate  of  happiness  is  praise,  too,  lo  be  set  at 
nought?  Even  flattery  finds  many  a  willino;  auditor.  I;Ut 
who  can  deny  t!ie  fascinating  power  (d'  the  voicf:  of  praise, 
when  it  sounds  in  unison  with  the  secret  whispers  of  con- 
science? 

Yet  wc  may  venture  to  suggest  to  you  a  still  higher  mo- 
live.  Though  our  bodies  are  perishing,  we  know  ihat  our 
spirit  is  immortal — we  know  tliat  we  are  placed  in  this 
world  in  a  probationary  state,  and  t!iat  we  are  commanded 
to  improve  our  talents.  Mav  it  not  be,  tlinl,  i:i  ',>ro:>!  rtion 
as  we  cultivate  our  iulcllectuul  and   moral  faculties  hcie  be- 


1« 

Ilisv,  ill  tlie  same  propnrlioii  will  our  capacity  be  extended 
lor  enjoyment  in  anollier  ant!  a  liii^lier  world?  May  it  not 
!tc,  tiiat  this  ambliioa  we  I'eel'is  "t!ie  divinity  tliat  slirs  within 
U3,"  leading  on  to  this  sublime  object? 

My  young  friends,  I  know  I  have  disappointed  the  flatter- 
ing expectations  you  hail  formetl — ex])eclaiions,  which,  I 
early  apprized  you,  coulil  not  be  realized.  I  came  here  will: 
no  vain  Iiope  of  making  an  exhibition  (jf  oratinical  talent. — 
X  came  solely  to  repeat  to  you  useiul  j)recepls,  which  have 
long  received  the  sanciion  of  the  wise  and  good,  and  to  add 
tny  .strong  and  sincere  attestation  of  their  truth,  from  an  ex- 
perience founded  on  some  years  devoted  to  the  study  of 
iiiiman  nature  and  to  an  active  intercourse  with  my  fellow- 
mau  in  all  his  various  relations,  Siifler  me  to  conclude  in 
the  language  of  an  insjiired  wiiter,  a  quotation  which  I  heard 
from  the  venerable  and  revered  President  of  my  Alma  Mater,* 
laanv  years  ago,  when  I  stood  in  the  situation  which  son.c 
of  you  now  occuj)}'.  Would  that  I  could  impart  to  it  the 
3ich  and  melodious  and  impressive  tones  of  elocjuence  iu 
which  it  full  from  his  lips,  and  wliich  still  seem  to  linger  ou 
my  ear!  And  would  that  it  might  not  only  be  fixed  in  your 
memory,  as  it  has  been  in  mine,  but  be  cherished  in  your 
hearts  and  regulate  3'our  lives!  "Whatsoever  things  are 

true;  whatsoever  THIXCiS  ARE  HONEST;  WHATSOEVER 
THINGS  ARE  JUST;  W'HATSOEVER  THINGS  ARE  PURE;  WHAT- 
SOEVER THINGS  ARE  LOVELV;  WHATSOEVER  THINGS  ARE  OF 
GOOD  REl'ORT,  IF  THERE  BE  ANY  VIRTUE,  AND  IF  THERE  BE 
ANY     PRAISE,    THINK    ON    THESE    THINGS." 

*'riip  Rcv'd.  Dr.  S.vMUEL  S.  Smith,  President  of  Princeton  College, 
the  le.irncd  scholar,  the  accomplished  gentleman  in  all  his  intorcour.se  with 
his  piiplls,  and  who  united  in  himself,  as  far  as  the  author  of  this  address 
cnuid  then  judge,  and  as  he  now  helicves,  fervent  [liely  with  as  pure  and 
}:;raceful  and  cloipioul  oratory  as  ever  adorned  the  puiiiit, 


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